sending church

New blog at timwpatterson.com

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:01:00 +0000

Sending Church blog moved to timwpatterson.com. Join us there to continue the conversation about sending the church... ideas and strategies for the Great Commission.

over the flood

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:00:00 +0000

"We sometimes act like we are under the flood... God is not under the flood, He is over the flood, God is over all things... If all the Christians leave this city to flee from the flood, who will be the light to Thai people left behind in darkness?" These words come from a great Thai leader and partner for LifePoint Bangkok. Our family is thrilled to be in Bangkok for a six-month assignment to help our LP Bangkok team establish a campus/sending center. Since arriving over a month ago, we have focused on adjusting to our new life and culture, spending time with the LP team, and making new friends. We have also lived under the constant threat of flooding coming from the heaviest monsoon season in Thailand in the last 50 years. The waters are beginning to recede, but only after the loss of hundreds of lives and thousands of homes. Millions of Thai people have been affected by the flooding with billions of dollars in damage to the economy. The Thai people are very resilient and already recovering from this crisis. However, many have been shaken to their core by the uncertainty of events in recent weeks. Many are still hurting and more open to the gospel than ever before. Pray that we can be used by God to reach many who are open to the good news because of this tragedy.

unstoppable influence

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:02:00 +0000

LifePoint Church on Vimeo.

Shared a little of our story this past Sunday as we finished up the series "Unstoppable." The church is God's primary instrument for His mission in the world. God is leading LifePoint to send the Church to be the Church where there is no church. In our local community and around the world, we are pointing people to a Christ-centered life through worship, biblical community, service, influence and generosity. As we model a Christ-centered life through missional communities, we will multiply disciples, leaders and churches among the nations for God's glory.

Where is God sending your church as part of His mission in the world?

sending church roundtable

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:37:00 +0000

LifePoint Church is hosting the sending church roundtable tonight and tomorrow along with the Upstream Collective.
You can follow live blogging and receive the latest twitter updates at #sendingchurch. Join the conversation as 22 churches come together to share ideas, best practices, and lessons learned from engaging in God's mission.

a sending church story

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:23:00 +0000

Rick and Jeanne Schroder’s Story from LifePoint Church on Vimeo.

One family's story about their journey as part of our sending church. The Schroders recently joined our LifePoint Brussels team.

training for the sending church

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:46:00 +0000

"So you want to be a sending church. You wish to actively engage in sharing the Gospel with members of another culture by commissioning some of your own church members to live and work among them... But you’re lost. Even though you’re sure of this vision God has clearly laid on your heart, too many unanswered questions seem to hang in a cloud above your head. What steps does your team need to take before you arrive on the field? How do you get there? What should you expect when you do? How do you communicate the Gospel once you do?"

Sending church training offered by the Upstream Collective can be a valuable resource for your church as you prepare to send a missional community (missionary team) to plant and multiply new disciples, leaders and churches in another culture. Our church is blessed to partner with Upstream for training several of our missionaries. If you are a sending church, check this out.

what missional should really look like

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:53:00 +0000

Great interview with David Platt from Trevin Wax expounding more on Platt's book: Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God. I think Platt has communicated the most biblical application of mission / missional / missions that I currently see out there. In this interview Platt clearly and concisely answers questions / issues raised by Wax from his reading of the book. Following are excerpts of the conversation about being "missional"... but there is a lot more good stuff to be found in the interview. The full conversation can be found here .
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"Missional” is quite a loaded, and often misunderstood, word in many conversations today. I certainly appreciate any effort to remind us that God intends us all to make disciples wherever we live, particularly in our local context...

At the same time, the Great Commission is not just a command from Jesus to make disciples; it’s a command from Jesus to make disciples of all nations (literally, panta ta ethne, of all the people groups). This means that Jesus has commanded us to go beyond just the place where we live and the people we live among. He has commanded us to go to people groups all around the world who have little to no access to the gospel. This is at the heart of the Great Commission.

So being “missional,” in the sense of the whole of the Great Commission, is never just about making disciples among people right around us. Being “missional” according to the Great Commission involves making disciples among people far away from us (geographically and/or ethnically).

... I want to encourage those who would claim the banner of “missional” to be truly “missional.” Let’s continue to focus on making disciples among the people around us (let’s not detract from that focus!), and let’s focus on making disciples among peoples all around the world who presently have no access to the gospel. This is obedience to the Great Commission and the heart of what it means to be “missional.”

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I like that Platt contends for a "both/and" approach to making disciples in our own context and among the nations. Sending church to hard to reach nations is a missing piece of strategy for many western churches who call themselves "missional." Please take the time to read the full interview to get a more complete explanation. Comments welcome.

bangkok sending church

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:40:00 +0000

I will visit our LifePoint Bangkok team this next week. I look forward to seeing what the Lord has done in and through them since moving to Bangkok last year. They have completed one year of language/cultural learning, building relational networks and laying the groundwork for establishing a LifePoint campus/sending center that will multiply indigenous Christ-centered disciples, leaders and churches for God's glory. Here is a description of our vision for LifePoint Bangkok:
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LifePoint Church will be on Jesus' mission in Thailand to reveal God's glory among the nations. LifePoint Bangkok will multiply Christ-centered disciples, leaders and churches. We will help people take next steps to live out the following characteristics on their journey toward a Christ-centered life: Worship, Biblical Community, Service, Influence, and Generosity.

Bangkok, a booming mega city of over 15 million people, is the center for commerce and education for all of Southeast Asia. Hundreds of thousands of students from all over Asia come to study in Bangkok and return to influence people in their home countries as leaders and entrepreneurs. Although there is a long history of missionary work in Thailand, less than one percent of more than 65 million people know Jesus Christ as their Savior. However, because of the foundation laid by missionaries and Thai evangelical churches, there are signs of a growing church in Thailand.

LifePoint Church will come alongside Thai Christ followers and missionaries to focus on multiplying indigenous disciples, leaders and churches in Bangkok to see God’s glory revealed throughout the Buddhist world. As LifePoint missionaries acclimate to life in Bangkok, they will build relationships with people, search for persons of peace and look for where God is working to join in His plan for reaching Thailand. Through relational networks, our missionaries will disciple local Thai people in small groups to reach their family and friends.

Following God’s lead and timing, LifePoint will gather with indigenous Christ followers to establish a LifePoint campus/sending center that will provide contextually relevant environments for worship, community and discipleship. This church will not look exactly like LifePoint in the USA, but will have the DNA of pointing people to a Christ-centered life through worship, biblical community, service, influence and generosity... leading to multiplying disciples, leaders and churches in Thailand and Southeast Asia for God’s glory.

LifePoint will also partner for missionary training in Bangkok, equipping and mobilizing missionaries throughout Asia. LifePoint will play a role in sparking a "transformation movement" that will multiply radically transformed communities of Christ-followers and spread the fame of His name among neglected people groups.
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I am thrilled that our church will play a role in God's plan for Bangkok and the nations of Southeast Asia.

Honduras and Mexico years

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:50:00 +0000

Christian youth movement rev

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From Honduras years... we were privileged to play a role in this transformation movement and learned so much from the experience.

School for cross cultural training rev

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From Mexico years... God blessed this strategy to multiply new disciples, leaders and churches among a couple of indigenous people groups.

Go... make disciples

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:16:00 +0000

This is Discipling from The Foursquare Church on Vimeo.

Thanks to Guy Muse for pointing us to this video. Good illustration of how the church should be more about making disciples outside of our controlled environments and in the world where people live.

missional communities... frequently asked questions

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 15:18:00 +0000

Great resource from the Verge Network on what missional communities look like... missional communities 7 frequently asked questions.

imagine a missional movement

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:43:00 +0000

Good perspective coming from a mega multi-site church leader on what a missional church in the U.S. could look like. If every growing mega church in the west would struggle with this vision and make it their own, we could see a reverse of our downward spiral in North America and possibly play a vital role in discipling the nations. What do you think about Wegner's vision for the western church?

happy fathers multiply

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:24:00 +0000

I am blessed to have a Dad that modeled for me what it looks like to be a man of character, a great husband and father, a leader, a hard worker, and a good friend. My Dad watched over me as I grew, he taught me things useful for life, gave great advice and guidance through my struggles, and encouraged me as I ventured out on my own. We don't see each other very much but we still keep in touch. Why? Because at one point in my youth he released me to be on my own, to be responsible for my own life, to start a new family and repeat this whole life cycle with them. A new generation was born and this new generation is reproducing yet another generation. Our family tree continues to grow larger with each generation. That is how we multiply... we produce a new generation and raise them to reproduce yet another generation of their own... and that life cycle continues for generations to come.

What happens when children don't grow up as they should, don't take responsibility for their own life, and don't produce a new healthy generation? Obviously, the family tree is cut short and does not grow and reproduce as intended. Multiplication happens when we produce new families that take responsibility for their own life, and are released to reproduce/raise new generations that will do the same. It is sad to see 30 and 40 year old men still living with their parents because they failed to take responsibility for their own life and produce a new family. It is sad to see grandparents who have to raise their grandchildren because parents fail to take responsibility for raising a new generation. It is even sadder to see controlling fathers who fail to raise healthy children and to release them to start families of their own.

This life illustration applies to the church and God's kingdom. It is sad to see Christ-followers who never grow up, never take responsibility to raise up new disciples of their own, and who fail to produce a new generation that could lead to multiplying the church. It is even sadder to see church leaders who do everything for their disciples, never stop spoon feeding them, never teach them how to do for themselves, and never release them to lead/teach/raise new disciples of their own.

Thanks Dad for raising me to be a man and empowering me to raise my own family. Happy Father's Day!

radical together

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 20:38:00 +0000

I just finished reading Radical Together, Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God. The book "Radical" challenges individual Christians to give their lives away for the glory of God. "Radical Together" focuses on what the real mission is and how the church can be God's instrument to fulfill His purpose.

My favorite chapter is "The Genuis of Wrong, Building the Right Church Depends on Using All the Wrong People." In this chapter Platt states: "In Jesus' simple command to "make disciples," he has invited every one of his followers to share the life of Christ with others in a sacrificial, intentional, global effort to multiply the gospel of Christ through others. He never intended to limit this invitation to the most effective communicators, the most brilliant organizers, the most talented leaders and artists... all allegedly the right people that you and I are prone to exalt in the church. Instead, the Spirit of God has empowered every follower of Christ to accomplish the purpose of God for the glory of God in the world. This includes the so-called wrong people: those who are the least effective, least brilliant, or least talented in the church."

Platt also shines light on the real purpose of the church, why we are still here until the Lord comes for us... "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14). Platt puts it this way: "He will come when every people group has heard the gospel. For this reason he has charged his church, not just generally with getting the gospel to as many people as we can, but specifically with getting the gospel to every people group on this planet. Indeed, he is not coming back until this assignment has been accomplished."

"Radical Together" is a great equipping tool for sending churches. Platt includes small group studies that go along with each of the six chapters in the book. Personally, I liked this sequel better than the first book. I think it sharpens focus on the real mission and purpose of God and emphasizes the church as God's vehicle for His mission over individualistic mission.

be smart... learn the culture

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:59:00 +0000

Bangkok Be Smart Guide from brett clark on Vimeo.

Our church is sending a team of 20 high school students and adults to Thailand this weekend. This video was a fun way to introduce some of the cultural differences and challenges of life in Bangkok.

This student team will work alongside our LifePoint missionaries loving on kids in an orphanage, helping with high school and university outreach, and serving in the slums. We now have six couples and two singles living in Bangkok. Most of them have finished up their first year of language study and will now begin forming small groups from their networks of relationships. As these groups grow, they will gather together to establish a campus, or sending center. LifePoint Bangkok will become our base for launching missional communities throughout Asia.

Here is a great blog post from one of our Bangkok missionaries about the importance of learning the culture... foreign to familiar.

what holds us together on the same mission

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:28:00 +0000

¹⁸ Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;
but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.

¹⁹ Servants cannot be corrected by mere words;
though they understand, they will not respond.

(Proverbs 29:18-19, New International Version)

Proverb 29:18 is often quoted by leaders when talking about leadership. The traditional translation for this proverb uses the word "vision." This implies that leaders see something that others don't see, and have a special foreknowledge that will lead others to do what they should do, if they heed the leader's wisdom. This interpretation emphasizes the leader, and the need for people to follow the leader.

The more accurate translation of this proverb uses the word "revelation." This word implies that leaders are communicators of God's vision. When we effectively communicate God's vision, based on His word, the people we are leading are more likely to follow Him and carry out His plan. The emphasis of this interpretation is on God's revelation, His word, and the need for people to follow Him.

The next part of the proverb speaks to what happens when there is no revelation of God's will, people will "cast off restraint," meaning they will go do their own thing and not follow God's plan. Effective leadership that communicates God's vision will hold them together, lead them to go the same direction and not spin off out of control into various directions. The leader is the communicator of God's revelation. If the leader is doing a good job of communicating God's vision, the people he is leading will stay the course on God's mission.

Many stop right here with this proverb. I think the next proverb provides more context and a better understanding of how we can effectively communicate God's vision. Proverb 29:19 goes on to say, "A servant cannot be corrected by mere words; though he understands, he will not respond." Communicating God's vision involves more than "mere words," it requires action that demonstrates how to obey His revelation. Modeling what it looks like to obey God's vision completes the revelation. As the old saying goes... "practice what you preach." I would add, "preach what you practice." Kyle Goen, our leader for LifePoint Brussels, speaks to the need for models that accompany vision in his posts, "leading change in the church" and "pictures, models and vision."

I am thankful to be part of a church that is striving to follow God's revelation/vision for the nations. We are not perfect and have a long way to go. But one thing is for sure, we are following a singular vision based on God's word together as a church, and fighting off urges to stray into different directions. I will share some more about our global vision and how we are attempting to model that in future posts.

MODEL process for multiplying disciples, leaders and churches

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:36:00 +0000

Model

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Here is a presentation outlining biblical principles for multiplying disciples. We have seen these principles work over the years in three different cultures/contexts to catalyze transformation movements. If you have trouble viewing the slides here on the blog, go to: MODEL.

missional community

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Thu, 05 May 2011 14:46:00 +0000

There will always be tension between the church gathered and the church scattered... what do you think about this?

sending church: more relational influence... less programmed evangelism

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Wed, 04 May 2011 20:10:00 +0000

We all prefer to remember success and try to forget failures. Naturally, we want to put our best foot forward and forget the times we stumbled. I have been thinking about my early years as a Christ follower and contrasting those days with later experiences. Like so many, when I surrendered my life to Christ I was on fire to do all I could to please Him and to obey His commands. This is usually a good thing, except when in the early years my misguided zeal did more harm than good. Like when I told my uncle (close to my age) that he was going to burn in hell because he was not saved! I was nine years old at the time. I had not yet learned the finer points of evangelism. But then in college I improved my approach. I went door to door in my dormitory engaging total strangers with a four point salvation plan. If they accepted the plan and prayed right then and there to receive Christ, everything was fine. If they rejected the plan, I expressed my sympathies to them that... yes... they were going to burn in hell! My success rate was not good in the early years.

Fast forward many years. My wife and I were missionaries in Honduras during the 90's. A Honduran pastor I worked with to plant a church started a ministry with youth gangs. We began a soccer league for the gangs in the neighborhood. Soon we had over a hundred youth in our soccer league. They asked a lot of questions. We naturally shared our faith. Dozens surrendered their life to Christ. We not only played soccer, we met in homes for Bible study and gathered in larger groups for corporate worship wherever we could find a place. This was the beginning of the "Christian Youth Movement." We saw hundreds of families and thousands of youth transformed by Christ. The ministry expanded to many neighborhoods all over the city, we went to large public schools, prisons and eventually saw the movement spread to several cities, not only in Honduras, but throughout Central America.

The difference between these two approaches? One approach was a programmed presentation... the other was a more natural influence through relationships. Today I am happily serving in a church that has relational influence as a key ingredient in our DNA. We are developing a model for missions that we call the sending church. We have a vision for beginning transformation movements that will multiply new disciples, leaders, churches and reveal God's glory among nations. Earlier posts about the sending church can be found on this blog in my side bar under the heading: "sending church model." Here is an outline for defining the sending church...

What is a sending church?

* A community of Christ followers (More missional communities, less individual missions)
* Sent by the Holy Spirit (More lay leaders, less professional missionaries)
* To be the hands and feet of Christ (More practical ministry, less talking and meeting)
* To engage all people with the gospel and love of Christ (More relational influence, less programmed evangelism)
* To multiply disciples among the nations for God's glory (More transformational disciples, less institutional discipleship)

This post touches on engaging people with the gospel and love of Christ through relational influence. What does more relational influence and less programmed evangelism look like?

As a sending church we want to engage people not only with good news about Christ but also with loving relationships to demonstrate His character. Relationships in a real community will attract people to Jesus much better than a programmed presentation. We relate with people in their context, incarnating the good news of Jesus, being real with them, sharing the message of Christ along with normal everyday life. This means we will enjoy meals with them, celebrate important milestones in their life, cry with them during hard times, play sports, watch movies, participate in whatever living life means for them. No, we will not participate in something that would dishonor Christ... people will know up front who we are and most will accept that. If they know that we genuinely want friendship with no strings attached... they will want to pursue a relationship. Every person is starved for meaningful relationships and community.

More to come about sending church. Comments welcome.

no matter what model you drive... just drive!

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Tue, 03 May 2011 11:19:00 +0000

I drive a '94 Nissan Pathfinder with over 235,000 miles on the odometer. Driving a car that is 17 years old can present some challenges. There are rust spots, scratches and dents. The front passenger door handle broke off in freezing weather this past winter. The air conditioner doesn't work anymore. I had to get some major repairs and maintenance done over the past few years... new tires, alignment, brake job, new alternator (twice), new fan belts, hoses, etc, etc... you get the picture. But overall this car still runs OK and can get me from point A to point B. So, I don't worry about having a nicer car, a cooler car, a newer or better car... I just drive. It is paid for and I will probably drive it until the wheels fall off (literally).

So, you are probably thinking, "I don't care what kind of car you have... what's the point? Just drive your car, or whatever car you want to drive, as long as it works for you. I am tired of hearing about your car!"

Your church is God's vehicle for making disciples among the nations. The whole debate about what model of church is best to carry out God's mission in the world is almost as ridiculous as debating what kind of car you should drive. It does not matter what kind of church will get you from point A to point B... as long as it gets you there in the context where God has sent you. We need more drivers, not newer or better models. Who will you take along on the journey? It does not matter what your church looks like as long as it gets you to multiplying disciples (passengers), leaders (drivers), and churches (vehicles) for God's glory among all nations. Just drive!

Transformation India Movement Update

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:59:00 +0000

We experienced a great Easter weekend with our friend and partner, Biju Thomas. We worked with Biju while living in India, helping him to launch training for indigenous church planters. Since 2005 Transformation India Movement has grown from 10 church planters and 10 churches / groups with around 50 believers, to 28 church planters, 223 pastors/elders, 152 churches, 84 outreach groups and over 7,000 adult believers. Simultaneously, T.I.M. in partnership with North Carolina Baptist Men (and others) have drilled over 700 clean water wells, started around 80 primary schools that educate over 3,000 children who had no access to schools, trained hundreds of women in sewing schools to help provide for their families, provided medical care, disaster relief and in several other ways have served hundreds of communities that previously had no Christian presence/witness.

This is another great example of proclaiming AND demonstrating the reign of God in a very dark place. Many great things happening in Bihar, India... however this Indian state of over 85 million people (size of the state of Tennessee) is still less than 1/2 of one percent Christian. Please pray for and support the work of T.I.M.

proclaiming AND demonstrating the reign of God

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:50:00 +0000

Church in a Broken World Session 1 (part 2) from Upstream on Vimeo.

From Prague Michael Frost declares that God's mission for us is to proclaim and demonstrate what the universal reign of God looks like by giving people a taste of what is to come. He describes what that might look like with a great story from Southeast Asia. I was hoping for an illustration from a western post-christian context, but if you will take the time to listen, you will not be disappointed.

The story reminded me of similar experiences with dear friends in Central America, Mexico and India. I have seen God's work of transformation in these places but have yet to hear of whole communities affected in such a way in a present day western post-christian context. Anyone out there that can point us to some examples?

Jet Set Prague Commentary on Sending Church

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 15:43:00 +0000

The "Jet Set" have been in Prague for a few days and the comments/ reactions to Michael Frost and others are beginning to circulate...

"Ivan, another Czech church leader, said evangelical Christians in his part of Czech Republic have a traditional mentality that involves speaking of God’s reign, but not acting on it. People can have the tendency to separate their spiritual lives from their secular, everyday activities, and leave evangelism to clergy or the “professionals.” Ivan hopes to help change this way of thinking in his sphere of influence.

'We don’t have spiritual activity and non-spiritual activity. Whatever we do, somehow it’s connected to what we believe,” he said. “The church is not sending, actually, the church is the one that is sent.'

In addition to being co-pastor of a church, Ivan speaks to students in high schools about drugs, alcohol and sex. He said he doesn’t preach to them, but hopes to establish relationships within these communities that will afford him opportunities to share about what he believes."

Good stuff from Ivan and his church! Our church is heading in this direction as well. From sending our people into our local community to moving a community of 14 adults (and 5 kids) from our church to Bangkok, Thailand... our church is not only sending, but being sent. We are on a journey of being the church in our culture and beyond. I look forward to more dialogue coming from Prague/Budapest and learning from others what this looks like in Western Europe. We are in the midst of transitioning ten adults and ten kids to Brussels (we are almost half-way there).

Virtual Vision Trip with Upstream and Michael Frost

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:08:00 +0000

Come along on a virtual vision trip to Prague and Budapest... join a group of pastors, church planters, and missional practitioners as they dialogue and learn about missional approaches in a western context with The Upstream Collective and missiologist and author Michael Frost. In each of the cities, Upstream is hosting a one-day conference and webinar, where Michael will teach on "Church in a Broken World.” If you would like to participate in the webinar, register free here.

I will join with other missional bloggers as an "official commentator" during this event. You can follow commentary through this blog and various media... Upstream Blog, Upstream Twitter, and Upstream Vimeo.

"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat"

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Patterson) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 22:11:00 +0000

This update was sent to us from our missionaries in West Africa living/serving among a Mslm people group that has no viable chrchs in their area and only a few Chrtns. Their country is undergoing a food and fuel shortage due to changes in government, rapidly rising inflation, etc. The Lord laid it on their heart to share food with villages, neighbors and friends in their circles of influence. Our church helped them to do that...
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Just wanted to send you an update. Much rice has been given and seeds sown through distribution of scripture portions and cassette tapes. We have been praying several times this weekend and past week that God would greatly multiply what has been given. Please share with those involved in contributing how far God's love has reached through their partnership in God's work here.

50 bags - 50 kg (110 lbs) each were able to be purchased - that's over 2 TONS of rice!
5 villages received 15 bags of that - one of those villages is a new one that our friend B* has been sharing stories in on his own
Cassette tapes were given out - each contained Genesis 1-25, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, and various stories about Jesus
Scripture portions in their heart language were given

It's hard to really tell how many people were impacted, but we gave out rice (anywhere from 18 lbs to 50 lbs each) to approximately 200 families/courtyards.

An added blessing to this whole thing is the time of fellowship and discipleship that happened with B* and MC* as they helped bag and distribute the rice. Neither of them have ever seen such a demonstration of God's love....just to show God's love. It was quite amazing to them, and to us, some of the reactions of recipients. People here are just not used to such acts of kindness without some kind of string attached. Some people wouldn't even accept the gift because of their suspicions.

Many people were left speechless. Many could not thank God or us enough. Some mobbed us. And some avoided and rejected. We had our share of struggles this week as we sought to get this accomplished. But we know we've been obedient to the thing we felt God asking us to do and He has been faithful. We are trusting that He will use it in His way and His time for His glory.

We've known for a while that MC's* uncle helps many people around him as much as he can. We wanted to help him and MC's* family, too. When we left two bags of rice with him this afternoon, this is what he said with tears in his eyes. "I've always tried to take care of my family and those around me, but I've never in my life had anyone help me." Much was made of God's goodness this week.

Please pass on our sincere thanks to those who helped! And THANK YOU!
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